Review: Cornell and Diehl Autumn Evening

The Autumn Evening from Cornell & Diehl has received consistently high ratings for awhile, so I decided to give it a shot. This is part of a Pipe Dummies push to find an aromatic tobacco that Logan will enjoy. It may be an exercise in futility, but I'm willing to give it a shot for science!

Cornell and & Diehl is one of the bigger names in pipe tobacco. They produce a ton of pipe tobaccos of all different varieties.

Cornell & Diehl Autumn Evening

Brand: Cornell & Diehl

Package: 2 OZ Tin

Style: Aromatic

Tobacco Used: Cavendish, Virginia

Casing: Heavy

Cut: Coarse Cut

Bowls Smoked: 5

Date Purchased/Received: 1/28/2015

Pipe(s) Used: DE Tsuge Robusto

Price Point: $9.13 per Tin

Purchased: Purchased from Cigar.com

Quick Note: We're working out a rating system, so stay tuned...

Tin/Jar Note: The Autumn Evening had a STONG tin note. When I cracked the seal I was hit with big notes of caramel and maple syrup along with some citrus, vanilla and aged rum undertones.

Tobacco Strength: Mild - Medium

Room Note: Awesome. My wife loves it when I smoke aromatics because of the aroma and this one is her favorite.

Flavors: I purchased this particular blend from Cornell & Diehl because I heard that, unlike most aromatics, the Autumn Evening actually tasted like it smelled. In short, I'm glad I bought it. The flavor is the strongest I have experienced in any aromatic. Notes of maple syrup and rum led the way with mild notes of citrus and whiskey in the background. It burned cool in the bowl and the smoke was smooth on the tongue and on the retrohale. I've found that the retro is extremely important with pipe tobacco, and most of the flavor from Autumn Evening came from the retro.

Conclusion: The Autumn Evening is easily the most flavorful aromatic I have smoked to date. I could even see some folks saying it has too much flavor. It had a fair amount of strength as well. I wasn't blown away by the strength, but it was stronger than most aromatics that I have tried and I actually liked that. Tons of flavor and a nice little kick! I throughly enjoyed it and can see this one settling into my rotation.

Rating: When I get through this tin (which should be soon) I will be buying some Autumn Evening in bulk. I'm not sure what that means for a rating, but it means I'll have 4-5 oz of this stuff jared up and ready to be smoked.

Like most products I have purchased from Cornell & Diehl, you pop the can open and an aroma hits your nose and it will taste pretty close to what you smell. If you can't tell the sweet smell of dried fruit, or the pungent smell of Latakia or a variety of spices then you should go to Walgrens and buy whatever bulk packages they have and smoke that !